As early voting begins, Wellsville, Hanover candidates leave election

Deanne Johnson

Staff Writer

djohnson@mojonews.com

LISBON — The county elections board on Thursday accepted letters from two people who withdrew their candidacies for the November election.

Marcus Dalrymple, who was running for Wellsville council, and Beth Conlon, who was running for Hanover Township trustee, have both given notice they no longer wish to run for those offices.

However, Kim Fusco, deputy director of the board, noted ballots have already been printed and these two candidates will appear on the ballots in their respective communities. Votes for those candidates will not be included in the official count, so even if one were to have the most votes in the races where they appear, they will not win, according to Fusco.

In the case of Dalrymple, only one candidate, Randy Allmon, remains on the ballot for two seats and it will be up to council to select someone to fill the second seat. Conlon was running in a race where there are still three other candidates running for two seats.

Fusco reported to the board that early voting has begun. About 30 people have voted at the board offices in Lisbon, where they are currently open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Those hours remain in effect until the week of Oct. 30, when they will be extended to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. The weekend prior to the election, those wishing to vote early can do so from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Voters can also vote in the office on Monday Nov. 6, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.

On election day, Tuesday, Nov. 7, the polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Fusco said there will be voting at all 87 precincts in the county.

Fusco also reported to the board more than 500 absentee ballots have been requested.

Although there are 65,929 registered voters in the county, the board ordered the state-required 71,459 ballots, which is at least 1 percent more than are registered. Board vice chairman David Johnson pointed out they may have only 30 to 35 percent turnout and he believes ordering even 50 percent of registered voters would be enough, but the law requires them to order more. The rest will be thrown out following the election and Johnson asked how much that costs. Fusco said each ballot costs 29 cents.

Training sessions for poll workers are being held on Oct. 23, including how to operate the new poll books which will be used for signatures by the registered voter prior to receiving their ballot. Fusco said they have heard some concerns about the poll books from some poll workers, but some younger people have offered to become poll workers possibly because of the new technology. Some poll workers are still needed.

Finally, the board briefly discussed the civil lawsuit filed by a group of East Liverpool residents who were attempting to get an issue on the ballot that would prohibit the use of traffic cameras. Fusco reported to the board that no hearings are scheduled until Nov. 9, two days after the election. She said either director Adam Booth or herself will most likely be attending.